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Shame Isaki
AS usual when the nature of agreements entered between Zimbabwe and China were announced, the private Press went ballistic denouncing and despising them as ‘pies in the sky’ or papers only that will never live to see the day. This is something that the US and Europe has managed to do to Africa especially through the private press.
They have successfully managed to make us hate ourselves and everything we stand for. Everything that African governments try to do for their nations is put under the microscopic eye of the Western sponsored Press and most of the time the outcome is always negative.
Unfortunately even here in Zimbabwe, the same sad development has suddenly taken root with most Zimbabweans dismissing noble ideas, plans, projects and decisions their fellow black men will make, only to applaud and support whites.
You listen to people talk and you will be shocked to hear someone saying: “This country will never develop without whites” or “Whites are always ahead of us”. Yes, they are ahead of us because when we were busy with our own lives, they came and oppressed us to their advantage.
After we fought them, they maintained their grip on the economy and as soon as we made a decision to reclaim what rightfully belongs to us, they closed their companies and their original countries slapped us with illegal sanctions.
Our attempts to move forward are being kept in check by those who yesterday were our oppressors.
Honestly speaking, given such a scenario the gullible are easily fooled to think that our black governments are useless. It’s true though that some African governments still have a lot to learn in terms of accountability and servant leadership, but to ignore the damage our former oppressors have caused on our country will be utter foolishness.
There is no way we can develop or go forward as a nation if we don’t start to believe in ourselves and appreciate that just as the West has made progress so can we with sound policies and good attitude.
Now news of the Chinese carrying out an assessment of the Osborne area with a view to constructing a hydropower plant and an irrigation scheme covering up to 10 000 hectares, is just but the best news in a long time.
That this scheme will cover Nyazura and Odzi is quite a good development given that these are dry areas with good soils.
Our country is always known for its vibrant agricultural culture and surely this latest development will see us retracing our steps to that status.
I believe it is wise for Government not to make previous mistakes where it has promised much only to deliver very little or nothing at all. Many projects suffered stillbirths in the past, including the widely publicised Ziscosteel and Hwange projects, and the nation obviously was taken aback by these developments.
That Zimbabwe has great potential cannot be doubted. That Zimbabwe has the human capital cannot be challenged also but what we lack are sound policy frameworks that should be supported by a robust implementation mechanism.
The other problem that has destroyed public trust in government initiatives is their abuse by those who are supposed to be implementing them because, instead of doing it for the country, they then turn to enriching themselves and resources meant for these projects are diverted. It’s wrong.
Our people have suffered for a long time and its time we proved to them that we are serious about addressing their bread and butter issues.
Let’s have some sense of responsibility and conscience and make sure that we put back those smiles on the faces of our people. We can do it.
While we look forward with anticipation for the implementation of this latest project, it is also important for the Ministry of Agriculture and Mechanization to assess the extend of dilapidation of irrigation infrastructure in some areas that already had these schemes because ignoring them while embarking on new projects of a similar nature is not making progress at all. We need to maximise on land and infrastructure use for us to begin to make meaningful progress and I believe it’s possible.
It is also good news that agricultural implements and equipment agreed between Zimbabwe and Brazil have started arriving in the country.
We can come out of this difficult situation if we all put our hearts and minds to work and stop squabbling and politicking. Zimbabwe is greater than personalities.
Shame Isaki is a socio – political commentator, business consultant and preacher. He can be contacted on 020 – 68818 / 0773 018 662, Email: [email protected]
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